Chapter Twenty-Seven - Priori Incantatem
Harry was exhausted. Duelling with Death Eaters, chasing after Bellatrix, and attempting an Unforgivable Curse had taken him to his limits. He could barely even process that his most hated enemy was standing less than a few yards away.
Sirius stood between them, shielding Harry from harm as he'd sworn a Vow to do. He showed no fear, utterly confident despite facing the most evil wizard in fifty years or more.
Voldemort turned away from the prone figure of Bellatrix, who had been defeated. She smirked at them, sure once more that their deaths were nigh.
"Who dares speak to Lord Voldemort?"
"It's been awhile, snakeface." Sirius' tone was cold. "Don't you recognize me?"
"Sirius Black."
"The same. Your errand is in vain. The prophecy is destroyed."
"There are other ways to attain it."
"None of which will avail you."
"You boast too much, Black. I offer you the one chance to step aside."
"No."
"Then join me."
"Never."
"Then die."
Voldemort raised his wand.
"Nobody will die today."
"Lucius, the traitor. How good of you to come to me after spending the last year running like a coward."
"My Lord," he said with a sneer. His wand was held low, ready to strike like a serpent rising from the ground.
"Why do you mock me, Lucius? Even now I am prepared to forgive you if you beg loudly enough."
"You will get no such pleasure from me."
"Then I shall from your screams."
"So get on with it. You always did talk too much."
Voldemort smiled maliciously. "Every word I speak prolongs your worthless life another few moments. One would think you should be trying to get me to keep talking."
"I grew weary of the sound of your voice years ago."
Mr. Malfoy launched a volley of fireballs. Sirius lashed with a cascade of icicles. Voldemort countered with a wave of boiling water that extinguished the fire and melted the ice.
Sirius summoned a swarm of locusts. Mr. Malfoy conjured shards of jagged stone. Voldemort waved his wand in a circle rapidly, and a great wind blew, and the locusts were slain by the stones.
Now Voldemort went on the attack. He demolished the statue of magical brethren to use the pieces. With a wave of his wand, they became a quartet of snarling wolverines.
Mr. Malfoy attacked directly with a Slashing Spell, and blood poured out on the floor as the rabid beasts collapsed.
Sirius changed the blood to acid, and the sizzling hiss sent chills up Harry's spine. Before Sirius could do anything else with the stuff, Voldemort pulled the edge of the floor up, tilting the surface. Sirius scrambled to avoid being dumped in the acid.
Voldemort summoned vines out from under the floor. They grabbed Mr. Malfoy by the ankles and quickly snaked up his legs. He tried to burn them, but there were too many. He tripped and fell down, and the vines were upon him.
Sirius cast a spell to rescue him, but Voldemort intercepted it. He pushed Sirius back with a Bludeoning Hex, the sheer force of which crunched a few inches of the floor into dust at the edge of Sirius' shield.
Mr. Malfoy struggled with the vines, momentarily out of the fight. Sirius was stuck on defense, and Voldemort's spells came fast and furious.
The shield collapsed, and Sirius wasn't quick enough to restore it. He took three arrows in his wand arm and fell with a grunt of pain.
Voldemort stepped closer. "Now you see that it is foolish to resist Lord Voldemort."
"I've always been a slow learner," Sirius said with clenched teeth.
"Know that your death will be quick. Avada-"
"Expelliarmus!"
Somehow Harry found the energy within himself to act. He couldn't lose Sirius too. Voldemort was forced to dodge Harry's spell, meaning he couldn't kill Sirius.
The cold glare nearly frosted the room.
"Potter. Interfering and meddlesome, just like your parents. Did you truly destroy the prophecy?"
"Damn right."
"A bold play."
"Thank you."
"You play very well. I think I enjoy this game. You listened to the prophecy didn't you?"
"Maybe."
"You did. I can see it in your eyes. You will tell me now."
"No, I don't think so."
"Then I will take it. Legilimens!"
Harry found himself thrown into a realm of mist and shadow. Thunder and lightning raged around him, but Harry drew upon the silence of his mind. A silver dome descended over him, protecting him from the lightning strikes that blasted the ground into jagged splinters.
The rage gradually wore itself out. Harry pushed his shield out further and further, finally coming back to the Atrium.
Voldemort lowered his wand, shaking his head.
"You'll never know!" Harry shouted triumphantly.
"I have nothing more to say to you, Potter," Voldemort said quietly. "You have irked me too often, for too long."
Adrenaline spiked through Harry's bloodstream.
"Good bye."
As Voldemort cast the Killing Curse, Harry rolled out of the way. He came to his feet immediately, countering with a Slashing Curse aimed at the eyes. Voldemort ducked, moving with a quickness belied by the body he inhabited.
Harry moved in a clockwise circle. "The Order is on the way, Riddle. Dumbledore will be here soon."
"I do not fear Dumbledore. Crucio!"
Harry leaned out of the way. "Impedimentia!"
"You jest, Potter. Such a simple spell cannot hold me."
"I figured I'd start with the basics."
"Imperio!"
The force of Voldemort's mind was overwhelming. A serpentine voice whispered, Drop your wand.
It was amazingly impossible to resist. Harry felt his will crumbling.
With a tremendous effort, Harry shoved Voldemort's mind away. His wand came back up to a ready position.
"Infractus manus!" If Harry could make Voldemort drop his wand, the fight would be over.
Voldemort twirled in place, and the spell flew by him.
"You're pathetic, Potter. Weak and pathetic. Just like your parents. Even they would be ashamed of you."
"Your mum's just bursting with pride, is she?"
"Crucio!"
Harry barely dodged that one.
"Sore spot, eh? Can't say I blame you. I'd be embarrassed about being a hypocrite too."
"Shut up, Potter! I will kill you in a most painful manner."
"You're not having much luck so far."
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Diffindo!"
Their spells collided in mid-air with a crash of thunder. A bolt of golden lightning connected their wands, and the vibrations would have shaken Harry's wand out of his hand if his fingers hadn't clenched up tight. Voldemort looked as astonished as Harry felt.
Without warning, Harry and Voldemort began to float into the air. The golden thread connecting them splintered. They remained connected, but hundreds of other beams arced all around them, forming a golden dome.
Voldemort tried to break the connection. Harry, figuring that anything his enemy thought was bad must therefore be good, held on with both hands.
A beautiful and unearthly song swelled, coming from the web of light. Harry had heard it once before, in Dumbledore's office, as Fawkes the phoenix perched on Sirius' shoulder. It was a hopeful sound, welcoming and inviting. It reverberated through his body, seeming to come from within.
Don't break the connection.
Harry didn't know if he were imagining the voice, but he decided to follow its advice.
The instant he made the decision, holding on to his wand became near-impossible. The vibrations got much stronger, and great beads of light appeared, sliding up and down the connecting thread.
His wand grew hot in his hand. Whatever these beads of light were, they were bad news. Harry bent every ounce of his willpower to forcing the beads back towards Voldemort. The vibrations calmed, but now the Dark Lord looked uncertain and afraid.
With one last push, the bead touched Voldemort's wand. It began to scream, as though in pain. Smoke began to pour from it, twisting into the shape of a person. Harry didn't recognize her, but she was followed by more women, several men, and more than a dozen children. Then came Mr. Fortescue and the other victims from the Diagon Alley attack.
"Don't let go," they said in strange, echoey voices. It seemed as though they were far away. "Fight! Don't give up!"
Harry's breath caught in his throat as two more people came out. Though they were grey and washed out, he could not mistake the looks of love in their eyes.
"Mum?" he whispered. "Dad?"
"Hang on, my son."
"When the connection is broken, we'll only be able to stay but briefly. We'll hold him back, but you've got to run for it. You can make it to the Apparition point and escape."
"I can't leave. What about Sirius? What about Mister Malfoy? My friends are down below."
"Dumbledore is on his way. Can you hold out?"
"If I have to."
The vibrations grew stronger. Voldemort looked terrified now that he was surrounded by his victims.
"Get away! You're not real! I'm not afraid of ghosts! Don't touch me!"
"They are real, snakeface! They're all your victims coming back to pass judgment. The verdict is guilty as hell! And you're going to die!"
"I cannot die!"
"The time is now, Harry."
"No, mum, just a little more time!"
"There is no time. You've got to move now. I love you."
"I love you, son."
"I love you too!"
He yanked the point of his wand up. The golden thread snapped. The shadows all rushed at Voldemort, and with a shriek of fury he struggled to get free.
Harry took the moment to try a Stunner, but it bounced off the ghostly figures. He rushed to Sirius, determined to Side-Along his godfather out of the Ministry. He was strong now, and though Sirius was a full-grown man, Harry was able to drag him with ease.
"Tom!" came a shout.
The ghosts disappeared, and Voldemort turned on Dumbledore with a fury. He launched a fireball and retreated towards the Apparition point.
"Damn you, Dumbledore!" he shouted before Disapparating. Bellatrix dove for the fireplace and Flooed away.
Dumbledore waited a moment to be sure that it wasn't a trick, then he turned to Harry.
"Harry, are you all right?"
Harry was completely dazed that it was all suddenly over and that he had survived. "No."
"Are you injured?"
"No."
"Let us see to the others."
Dumbledore released Mr. Malfoy from the vines. He tapped Sirius' shoulder and the bleeding stopped.
"Dumbledore!"
Two more of the Order had arrived, Professor Moody and Auror Shacklebolt.
"Sirius, perhaps you can tell us what's going on here," Dumbledore invited.
"Remus and Tonks are down in the Department of Mysteries. We managed to capture a few Death Eaters."
"Is anyone hurt?"
"I don't know. Harry, is anyone hurt?"
"Millie and Daphne. Maybe Draco and Ginny too. Laine-" Harry choked.
Dumbledore looked at him sharply before giving a great sigh.
"I am deeply sorry for your loss, Harry."
Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulders as they went back down in the lift. Harry followed along without seeing where they were going.
They passed through the spinning room and into the stone room.
Tonks was standing guard over three Death Eaters. Remus was tending the four children.
"Did you get them?" Tonks called.
"Who?" Sirius replied.
"Rodolphus and Rabastan managed to slip their bonds and get their wands back. They tore out of here in a hurry and managed to hex Ginny and Draco."
"Badly?"
"No, extremely well. Ginny's in rough shape. Daphne needs medical attention at once. Millie's arm is fairly mangled."
Harry stared at the veil, which still rippled slightly. It seemed that Laine must come back through. All the feelings in his heart told him that she had only stepped out for a moment.
A flash of gold on the floor caught his eye. He bent down and picked up the locket. It had finally opened. The glass on each half was cracked and broken. He traced the 'S' pattern with his index finger. Everything else about Laine had gone through the veil, yet this had remained.
"And what have we here? Percy! Elan!"
"We haven't been able to wake them. I think they've been dosed with Living Death."
"Fortunately Severus has a good antidote."
"Cousin, what is that shiny thing on your finger?"
"Can you believe it?"
"Congratulations, you two," Sirius said, turning to Remus. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It only happened tonight. We were just in the middle of celebrating when you firecalled."
"Sorry, old friend."
"Think nothing of it."
Harry followed as they made their way back up to the Atrium. There they were able to Apparate.
"Tonks, if you would please take Miss Greengrass to Saint Mungo's? I must return to Hogwarts with the children and then return here."
Sirius held out his arm to Harry. Mister Malfoy had Elan cradled protectively in his arms. Shacklebolt had Percy. Remus took Millie.
"Mister Malfoy, will you and Miss Weasley be all right for a moment? Side-Along Apparition is best reserved for only one passenger."
"We'll be fine," Draco said. He had one arm wrapped around Ginny, half-holding her up.
"We won't be but a moment."
With the horrid compression feeling, they appeared outside the gates of the school. They creaked open to admit them.
Sirius released Harry.
"I've got to go get Draco and Ginny. We'll meet you in the hospital wing."
They could not wait for them. Millie's wounds had started bleeding again.
"Go. See you soon."
When they arrived at the castle, however, they received a nasty shock. Professor Umbridge was waiting for them with her arms folded across her chest.
"There you are! What do you think you are about, taking students out of the castle in the middle of the night? They have OWL exams in less than forty-eight hours. Are you trying to jeopardize their futures?"
"Professor Umbridge," Dumbledore said, his tone flat-out distasteful. "We have no time for questions now. We must get these students under Madam Pomfrey's gentle care."
"How were they injured, Headmaster?" She moved with them up the stairs.
"There will be time enough for details later. There is more going on here than you know."
"I'm aware of that, Headmaster. That is why I asked you what happened."
"Far more, then, if you must. I am glad to see you, actually, for we must rouse Cornelius at once."
"Wake the Minister in the middle of the night?"
Whether Madam Pomfrey ever slept was a matter of some discussion around Hogwarts. She always seemed to be at her station or was quick to arrive in mere seconds. She was always calm and collected, healing her patients with cool skill and delicate art.
She stood up when they traipsed in, quite the party. The injured were laid on beds. Dumbledore and Umbridge left. Kingsley followed them. Remus and Mr. Malfoy stepped back to let Madam work. Millie required the most immediate attention.
"I'm going to get Professor Snape," Harry said.
"You stay put," she told him in no uncertain terms. "I'll Sticky Charm you to that bed if you even think about getting up."
"I'll get him, Harry," Remus said, looking at Mr. Malfoy who held Elan's hand to his forehead and was whispering.
Harry lay back and tried to calm down. So much had happened, and he was so tired, that he felt rather like the time he'd drank Unforgivable Liquor only much more so.
Remus returned with Snape. He spoke quietly with Madam Pomfrey and drew out several phials from the pocket of his robes. Elan and Percy each received a dose of a pearlescent white potion, while Millie, whose wounds had been salved, got a glowing blue potion that smoked slightly.
Harry himself was just about to take a Restorative Draught when the door opened to admit Sirius, Draco, and Ginny.
"Ginny's hurt," Draco said immediately.
"I'm fine," she protested. "Draco's hurt."
"It's just a scratch."
"Both of you sit," Madam said sternly. "You're not leaving before the sun hits its zenith."
After much fussing and bustling, they were all bedded down. Sirius sat at Harry's bedside, clearly burning to ask a thousand questions, but he refrained. Harry didn't think he'd ever be able to sleep, but he succumbed to his exhaustion despite himself. He slept badly, his mind filled with images of pain and suffering. These were plain, old-fashioned nightmares, no Voldemort needed. Around dawn he gave up on sleeping entirely as a poor idea. Everyone else was hidden away behind curtains. He heard nothing but even, steady breathing.
The sunrise filled the hospital wing with brilliant red light. Shadows crept down the walls and then vanished entirely. Harry wondered how soon it would be until someone else woke up. Sirius was asleep in the chair, and Harry didn't have the heart to wake him.
A short while later, Professor Dumbledore entered the hospital wing for the first time in many hours. He seemed relieved that Harry was awake.
"Harry, I would like a word, if I may."
Harry was grateful simply to have someone to talk to other than himself. "Sure."
"I have spent the wee hours trying to make sense of what has happened. Perhaps you would be so good as to tell me what drew you to the Ministry."
"A vision, sir."
Dumbledore looked up sharply. "A vision?"
"Yes, sir."
"I thought you had mastered Occlumency."
"I have, sir. When Voldemort tried to get the prophecy from me, I fought him off."
"Well done. I am confused then. How did you see this vision?"
"I didn't."
The Headmaster sighed.
"Perhaps I should just let you tell me."
"Yes, sir. We were in the common room studying. Ginny and- and- and L-Laine came rushing out. They'd both had a vision. Voldemort told Bellatrix that he was tired of waiting for the Ministry to see sense and hand over the prophecy and that Elan and Percy were to be sent through the veil. Ginny was going to go save them. Draco was going to go with her. I knew if they went alone, they'd wind up dead themselves or worse, so I decided to go with them. Millie and Daphne had the bad luck to be there too."
"Or perhaps it was good luck that sent them with you to help."
"We could have used more help. I wanted to get more, but Ginny was adamant about going immediately. We snuck out of the castle, got our brooms from the broom shed, and flew into the Forbidden Forest."
"Quite clever."
"Sure. Did you know there's a giant in the forest?"
"I did. How is Grawp?"
"Is that its name? He tried to get us, but we made it out okay. Once we got airborne, we headed for London. I called Sirius to let him know we needed help. We used the visitor's entrance. We went down to the Department of Mysteries. The Death Eaters were there. One of them turned out to be Daphne's father.
"There was a big fight. We were losing. Then Sirius showed up with Remus and Tonks. We started to get the upper hand. Then Bellatrix knocked Laine through the veil. Things get a little fuzzy after that. I chased her up to the Atrium. Sirius and Mister Malfoy were right behind me. She was losing the fight, so she called for Voldemort. He answered. He duelled with them and was about to kill Sirius when I got involved. That's when things got weird."
"Weird?"
"Yeah. That's the only way I can put it." Fumbling for words, Harry described the golden thread, the dome, and the spirits he'd seen.
"I think it was really them. Then I broke the connection. You showed up and saved the day. Thank you."
"I wish I had gotten there sooner, Harry," Dumbledore said sadly. "I got the call from Sirius, but I had to alert the Aurors."
"We probably could have used them."
"Indeed. The rest, I think I know. Let us return to this vision. You say that Miss Weasley and Miss Slater both saw it?"
"Yeah. I don't know how. I'd felt Voldemort trying to break into my mind earlier that night, but I pushed him away. I don't know how he got into their heads."
"That is indeed a most troubling question. I shall think greatly upon it. That is probably enough questions for now. If I have further inqueries, I will find you."
"Yes, sir."
"Now for you. Are you all right, Harry? Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"No, sir."
"Please call upon me if you change your mind."
"Thank you, sir."
"I believe it is nearly time for breakfast to be served. I am famished, but I must speak with your godfather."
Sirius was yawning and rubbing at his eyes. "Is it morning already?"
At the table, Harry barely poked at the eggs, bacon, and kippers. He didn't feel like eating anything. He was soon joined by Pansy, Tracy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise.
"Morning, Hair," Blaise said cheerfully. "You look exhausted. Burning a little midnight oil? You'll want to be well-rested for the OWLs."
Harry didn't respond, merely pushed his eggs around the plate.
"Where's your sidekick?"
"Which one? Theo's still asleep," Goyle reported. "Draco's already up and about somewhere."
"We haven't seen Notty get up for breakfast on weekends in months," Blaise commented.
"Lay off him," Tracy said.
"I wasn't! I was only saying. It's true. Can't a chap speak the truth anymore without being yelled at?"
"There's a reason for it."
"Which is?"
"None of your business, quite frankly."
"It's not fair that I'm the only one who doesn't know."
"I don't know either," she snapped. "You don't see me whinging and complaining about it. Theo's been my friend for a very long time, and if he doesn't want to tell me, I'm going to honour that."
"He's told some of you."
"So what if he has?"
"Aren't you hurt that your old friend isn't confiding in you?"
"Not at all." Tracy sent her blonde hair whipping back and forth. "As long as he's talking to someone, I'm satisfied. If he weren't talking to anyone, then I'd be worried, but as it stands, I'm not."
Blaise gave up. "Hair, I wonder if we might look over Potions real quick after breakfast. I was reading up on Polyjuice and had a question."
Harry didn't even hear Blaise.
"Oi, Potter!"
"Huh?" Harry looked up and blinked rapidly.
"Can I ask you a question about Potions?"
At that moment, Harry couldn't have told him how to boil water.
"No."
"What?"
"He said no," Pansy jumped in. "Are you hard of hearing?"
"You harpies are enough to make any man go deaf, Cici."
"And I'll claw your eyes right out of your head," she promised. "Then you'll be deaf and blind."
"That sounds unpleasant. Can someone else help me then?"
"Only if it's quick," Tracy said. "We're scheduled to study Ancient Runes."
"I don't take Ancient Runes, Tray."
"That's your own problem. We're certainly not to blame because you took Divination and Magical Creatures."
"Professor Timmons is pretty amazing. I've learned quite a lot of Arithmancy this term, but I still don't want to take it."
"At least you don't have to take the OWL this year."
"A small mercy."
"I wonder where Laine and Ginny are," Pansy said. "They've usually joined us by now."
At the mention of Laine's name, Harry flinched.
"Harry?" Tracy said with concern. "Are you okay?"
He didn't answer, just mashed the bacon into the eggs.
"Probably just nervous about the OWLs," Pansy said confidently. "He's always like this before a match."
"I wonder where Daphne and Millie have got off to."
"Maybe they wanted to get in some early morning brewing."
"That's a possibility. I know Daphne is worried about the practical."
Harry stayed out of the chit-chat until they were ready to crack the books again. He sat in the common room and stared listlessly at the same two sentences over and over again.
Draco made an appearance around noon.
"Draco, there you are. You've missed a lot of studying."
"Hi, Tracy. Pansy, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure."
A minute later, Draco left the common room, and Pansy came back to the table. She didn't say anything, but the way she kept sneaking glances told Harry that she knew.
Harry gave studying his best, if futile, attempt until lunch. He let the others head up to the Great Hall without him. He was laying on his bed, hands behind his head, staring out the picture window when Tracy knocked on the door.
"Harry? May I come in?"
"Sure."
"Are you okay? You hardly ate anything at breakfast and now you've skipped lunch."
"I've just got a lot on my mind."
"The OWLs? You'll do great."
"No, not the OWLs." He didn't elaborate.
Tracy sat down on the edge of the bed. "Then what is it? Talk to me, Harry. Talk to me like you used to. We used to be able to tell each other anything."
"Yeah, we did." He looked at Tracy, her expression filled with concern. Her blonde hair fell forward into her face. Her blue eyes studied him, trying to penetrate his mind. They'd been such good friends once, and now Harry needed her again.
"Laine is gone."
"You broke up? Harry, that's awful. I'm so sorry."
"No," he said hoarsely. "She's gone. Forever."
Tracy sounded puzzled. "She's gone? I don't understand."
Harry's body was trembling now from the sheer effort of holding it in.
"Harry," Tracy whispered, horror creeping into her voice. "What's happened?"
"She's dead."
Harry barely whispered the words, but saying them aloud made them suddenly awful and real. His whole chest lurched, and he had to screw his eyes shut to stop tears from flowing. He buried his face in his arms and rested them on his knees.
Tracy reached for him, hugging him, and holding him tight. At her touch, the dam within him broke. Choking, sobbing, Harry clung to Tracy, soaking her robes with his hot tears.
"We snuck out last night. The Ministry. We had to rescue Elan and Percy. The Death Eaters were too much for us. Bellatrix blasted her through the- the veil. There was nothing I could do. I was going to kill her. I tried to get her, but I failed. I wasn't strong enough."
She smoothed his hair and rubbed circles on his back. She let him ramble, pouring out his heart.
When he had no more tears to cry, he pulled away and reached for a handkerchief. He'd made a mess of her robes, he rued, blowing his nose.
"Sorry," he said, casting a quick Cleaning Charm.
"Not even on my mind. It's not your fault."
"I should never have let her go."
"She made her choice, same as the rest, same as any of us would have."
"I shouldn't have let any of us go. It was such a trap. Why didn't I see it?"
"Why'd you go in the first place?"
"She and Ginny had a vision."
"A vision?"
"I know, Divination is bunk, but it was accurate. It just happened to be an accurate trap. They were expecting us."
"Was there a fight?"
"More like a war. It took two of us for every Death Eater, and we were still losing."
"Who's hurt? Millie and Daphne, right? That's why they haven't been around today."
He could only nod in shame. He'd gotten his friends hurt. It had been easy to be blasé with Snape about it, but now he had real consequences.
"Ginny too?"
"And Draco."
"The six of you went alone?"
"Yeah. Talk about stupid. I tried to call for help, but they got there too late."
"It's likely the only reason you came back at all."
"Yeah."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to criticize."
"I know. She would have gone anyway. She would have gone alone. Draco would have gone with her though, just the two of them."
"Of course. It was about blood. We move Heaven and Earth to protect our own."
"I know. I couldn't let them just go. I had to help."
"You did the right thing, Harry."
"That's what everyone keeps saying, but I got Laine killed."
"How?"
Harry found himself speechless. It was so obvious. "I let her come with us."
"You great prat," she said fondly. "Don't you understand? What compelled you to go also compelled Laine to go. She would have gone with Ginny even if you'd stayed behind. You couldn't have made her stay here except by raising your wand to her, and you're too much of a gentleman to do that. Your arguments were unpersuasive. You must therefore respect her choice, made as a free witch, to place her own life, which is hers to lose, in danger. If you are allowed to make that choice, why is she not?"
Harry fumbled for an answer.
"Because you're a boy and she's a girl? Because you're older than her? Laine was a fine duelist, as you well know. You were just outnumbered."
"I should have taken more people."
"You should have," she acknowledged. "Why didn't you?"
"Ginny said there wasn't time."
"Impatient, just like a Gryffindor."
"Are you saying it's Ginny's fault?"
"No. I'm saying that you can find a reason to blame anybody for anything. Usually things just happen. We Slytherins like to pride ourselves on our plans, but the truth is that nothing goes according to plan. There are too many other variables unaccounted for, like all the other plans of every single person alive, and a few ghosts thrown in for good measure. Life just happens, and the best you can do is live in the moment and make the best decisions you can at any given juncture, informed by the experiences you've had and the lessons you've learned.
"You did what you thought was right, and bad things happened. That's unfortunate, but now you've had a bad experience. You'll use what it teaches you, and next time your decision will be better. Laine is dead, but the rest of you are alive. Think about that. You went one on one with the Inner Circle of Death Eaters and only had one casualty. Do you know how insane that sounds to me? Harry, all six of you should have been sent through that veil on purpose, not just one by accident. You were strong enough to lead the others out of there."
"Not me," Harry said hoarsely. "Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Mister Malfoy saved us. We got all of them but Bellatrix, and she got away. I chased her down. I wanted to kill her, but I wanted to hurt her more. I wanted to hurt her more than anything ever, even more than those barbaric Muggles I lived with for all those years. I was just so angry."
"It's natural, Harry. It's all right to feel that way."
"Sirius caught up to us, then Mister Malfoy. You should have seen them, Tracy. They fight like nothing I've ever seen before. What we're doing in duelling club seems so silly by comparison."
"We're still learning, Harry. It would be dangerous for us to try that sort of stuff."
"I know, but now I think I understand a little better what we're up against. We need to be able to fight back like that. He won't wait for us to be ready."
Tracy nodded. "We'll just have to be smarter if we can't be stronger."
"Yeah."
They lapsed into silence, and Tracy continued to hold his hand. Harry felt much better after baring his soul, as though an immense weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He could breathe easier, without sobs threatening to come crashing out.
"Thanks for listening, Tracy."
She smiled at him, and he instinctively smiled back. "What are friends for?"
Tracy stayed with him, and Harry eventually fell into an exhausted sleep. Emotionally drained, he slept hard. He dreamed no dreams, and as he came awake, he heard Sirius calling for him. He blearily reached for the magic mirror.
"Sirius Black!"
"How are you, Harry?"
"Sleeping."
"Sorry to wake you."
"That's okay. I needed to get up anyway. I think it's nearly time for dinner. Where are you?"
"Dumbledore kicked me out of the castle. I'm at the Hog's Head."
"He kicked you out?"
"I was being a bit disruptive, I'll admit."
"You? Never."
Sirius laughed sharply. "I'm not to do anything that might interfere with students taking the OWLs. I just didn't want you to think I'd run off on you."
"I'd never think that, Sirius."
"I would hope not. So how are you, Harry? Really, I mean."
Harry sighed deeply.
"I've been so much better."
"I know, kiddo. I know."
"How'd you cope with losing your best friend?"
"I flew into a murderous rage. I was going to kill Peter. Even if I'd managed to do it, I still probably would have wound up in Azkaban. I had so much time to brood on that. I saw the same sort of thing in your eyes that night at the Ministry. I needed to stop you from making that sort of dreadful mistake."
"I feel like a piece of me is missing."
"That's because it is. She had a part of your heart, just like you have a part of hers. It's going to hurt for a long time. It still hurts me about your dad and mum. I suspect it always will. You just have to remember the good times. Tell the stories about them. Keep their memories alive. We can do that, Harry. We have a pensieve here at home. If you want to put all of your memories of Laine in it and see her again, you certainly may."
"Yeah?"
"I've been putting in memories of my years at school. Lots of good times with your parents and Moony. There's a lot of Peter, unfortunately."
"He really was your friend, wasn't he?"
"For a very long time. That's what I'm trying to figure out, actually, is where he started to turn against us. Moony's put a bunch of memories in as well."
"I'd like to see them."
"Of course, Harry. That's the other goal of the project."
Harry knew he would have a lot of free time if this upcoming summer was to be anything like last summer. What better way to spend it than by getting to know his parents?
"Thanks, Sirius. I'm going to get some sleep now."
"Pleasant dreams, kiddo. I love you."
"I love you too, Sirius."
Harry was still drained and not feeling particularly peckish, so he elected to skip dinner and turn in early. Though he slept very poorly that Saturday night, his nightmares were not accompanied by pain and burning in his scar. He almost would have welcomed the pain for a distraction from the numbness he felt. He got up just as the sun was rising.
He put himself through his normal morning routine by habit. He wasn't focused on any of it, but he found himself paying attention to how he was doing things.
He wet the toothbrush before applying toothpaste. Did he always do that or did he ever put the toothpaste on dry? He pondered the question as he brushed.
Back in the dormitory he reached for a clean pair of trousers. He stared at them for a moment. Which leg did he put in first? He had started to go with his right, but did he always? He tried the left. It didn't feel quite correct. He pulled his trousers up and paused again. Did he fasten the button and then zip or the reverse?
He stared at his socks in utter dismay. Both on before the shoes were attempted or one foot squared away before the other?
Harry wondered if he was starting to crack. How could it be so abominably hard to dress himself when he did it every day?
In his head he knew Laine was gone, but his heart hadn't accepted it. She'd simply vanished, leaving no trace. It was entirely possible that she might bound back into the room at any moment.
He half expected her to be waiting for him in the common room. His immediate guilt over her death had abated, but accepting that she was never coming back would take time. He morosely wondered how many times he would turn to say something to her today only to find her absent.
Harry sought the company of his friends today. They sat in the courtyard under the clock tower. The breeze felt good on his face. Tracy shuffled a deck of cards, and Harry played just for something to do. Pansy rubbed some cream onto her face and laid down in the sun. Crabbe and Goyle tried to hit a torch sconce with stones.
Draco spent the day at Ginny's side in the hospital wing. He appeared at the lunch table with a small wicker basket. He filled it with sliced meats and cheeses, bread, two pears, and a bowl of vanilla pudding. He also filled a small jug with pumpkin juice.
"Planning a picnic, Dray?" Blaise said.
"Don't call me that, Teeny. What if I am?"
"Tetchy git."
"How's Ginny?" Pansy said.
"Better," Draco said. "Madam is hinting that she might release them today. Millie's about going spare."
"Any run-ins with her brothers?"
"One. The twins came to visit her. I pretended that I was there to keep Millie company. They didn't stay long, just long enough to drop off a package to me."
"Candy?" Pansy said sharply. "Did you eat it?"
"Do I look dumb to you? Don't answer that."
"What was it?" Harry interjected.
"It was a sampler box of some new products they've been working on. A little less novelty pranks and a little more practical."
"Yeah?"
"Something they called Peruvian Darkness Powder."
Harry thought that sounded very interesting. "What's it do?"
"They wouldn't tell me, just that I should try it out."
"How are Elan and Percy?"
"Still the same. I think they're going to be transferred to Saint Mungo's. I have to go."
Once Draco was out of earshot, Blaise shook his head with a sigh. "What the hell has been going on lately? People in the hospital wing? Why won't anybody tell me anything?"
Harry had had enough of the boy's whinging.
"Zabini, stop talking. This is none of your concern."
"Only because you won't let me get close. I swear, Potter, sometimes you're downright suspicious of me."
"Constant vigilance."
"How's that working out for you?"
"Detention, Zabini."
"You can't be serious, Hair."
"Want to make it two?"
"The OWLs start tomorrow!"
"Professor Umbridge will set the terms. I can recommend to her that it not be this week if you apologize for your cheek."
"Cheek! You really can't take any funning, can you, Hair? I've never given you lot any reason to distrust me. You don't even seem to remember that we were firsties together for about two months before your antics got me pulled from school. I've never heard an apology from you for that."
"You didn't want any part of our adventures then, so why should I give you my confidence now? You haven't shown me your worth. Stick by my side through thick and thin and help save my life a few times, then you might be someone I trust. Until then, you're just somebody we used to know and might as well be meeting for the first time."
"So all the work we've done in the duelling club doesn't count?"
"Do you think I've confided in the Hufflepuffs then? Perhaps the Gryffindors?"
"Wasn't Dray dating one of them?"
"Does your mouth not have an off button?"
"Not really, no."
"Then I'll have to hex it shut. Don't hack me off, Zabini."
"Sounds like I already have, and I don't understand why."
"You don't need to understand! Just stop talking! Is that really so hard for you?"
Zabini opened his mouth, but Harry pointed a finger. "There! You're about to do it again. Stop! Shut it. Do not make noise."
Zabini glared across the table, but he mercifully did as he was told. He even accompanied the rest of the gang outside. It would be a mortal sin to not take advantage of such nice weather, and they sprawled on the grassy hill at the top of the way down to the Quidditch pitch. They could see a pick-up match happening between representatives of all four houses. From the sounds of it, there was quite a crowd watching.
Harry normally would have been interested in Quidditch. He had spent the last nine months teaching Laine everything he knew about Quidditch and Seeking. Right now he didn't care if he ever played Quidditch again.
"Draco, you're team captain next year."
Everyone else, who'd been listening to Pansy and Tracy criticizing Cho Chang's new hairstyle, turned to stare.
"Harry, Draco's not here," Tracy said gently.
He looked around. "Oh. Right."
"You've been training for this all year. Why do you want to give it up?"
"What's the point? We spent far too much time this year working on plays when we should have been practicing our spells. Maybe if we had we'd have been more ready."
"Harry, don't," she said, moving to hug him tightly. "Don't play the game of what might have been. Nobody ever wins."
"I just wonder if we might have been able to prevent it."
"You couldn't. That's just the pain talking."
Harry went limp and began to cry. Zabini, clearly confused, did not say a word.
They stayed outside until clouds moved in to cover the sun. The wind also picked up, and the day wasn't nearly so nice. They moved to the common room where they played cards until dinner time. They were just about to head up to the Great Hall, when the wall slid back and admitted Millie.
"Hey, guys. Released at last."
"Don't bother to sit, Bull," Zabini said. "We were just leaving for dinner."
"Shut up, Laze. I knew I should gave gone directly there. I'm famished. Hospital food is so unappetizing."
"Ginny still there?"
"No, Madam let her go too. We walked down together. She and Draco are having a private moment in the corridor."
"Well, it wouldn't do to interrupt."
Pansy smirked. "Certainly not. Let's."
Tracy cast a Silencing Charm on all their feet, and they crept up the hallway as quietly as they could.
Draco and Ginny were otherwise occupied and probably wouldn't have noticed a rampaging herd of Blast-Ended Skrewts coming towards them.
The snog came to an end, and she hugged him closely.
"I just feel so all over the place. We saved my brother, and I'm ecstatic about that, but I lost my best friend. I cry so much, but I switch reasons every five minutes."
"Saving Elan was the greatest thing I've ever done. My father is proud of me, of all of us, but I can't say anything. I can't whoop and cheer our success, because my best mate lost his girl. We shouldn't even be alive, but we can't celebrate because not all of us are."
"So what do we do?"
"Have our moments in private."
"I want to thank Harry. If he hadn't come with us, we'd all have been sent through the veil. It's because of him that we're alive."
Harry stepped around the corner.
"We did do something impossible. We should be proud, for that makes us mighty. Next time will be better. We'll be better. We'll be stronger, with greater magic. We'll be like those big damn heroes who came to our rescue. We'll kill those Death Eaters and bring them to justice."
"We're with you, Harry," Ginny said fervently. "Until he's stopped, nobody is safe. Thank you for helping me save Percy. I know it cost you as much as it cost me."
"Laine would have gone with you anyway. I just have to keep telling myself that. I have to believe it, otherwise I'll go mad."
"I would have gone alone, and she wasn't about to let me. It was her idea to get you, actually. She said we should have the best dueller in the school with us, the Duelling Captain."
"Not alone," Draco said, holding her tightly.
Harry wanted to feel jealous of Draco. He wanted to be angry because he couldn't snog his girl anymore, but the anger wouldn't come. Instead he felt a firm resolution to make the world safe so that all girls could worry about nothing more serious than matters of the heart.
"Dinner?"
During the meal, someone told Draco what had happened outside, because he leaned over to Harry when pudding was being served.
"You seriously want to make me Quidditch captain?"
"You're as good as any other."
"Why would I want to be captain when there's a war to fight?"
"That's my line."
"The whole idea is absurd."
"So what do we do? Turn it over to the really young kids?"
"I always did want to get on the team in first year."
"I just don't want to waste anymore time. Every moment we waste is one more moment we could have been using to prepare ourselves."
"I agree totally. I don't want to be captain either."
"That's what the Mirror of Erised showed you."
"Things have changed. I've changed. I want my family to be safe. Put me in front of that mirror now, and I'd see myself tap-dancing on Voldemort's grave."
"I think I'd pay money to see you tap-dance."
As they exited the Great Hall after the meal was over, they encountered a delegation of Healers from St. Mungo's entering the castle. It looked to be a Master Healer and several lesser Healers. Harry recognized Andromeda Tonks in the lead and waved hello.
"Harry, how nice to see you. I'm afraid I can't chat just now. I've got a couple of patients to retrieve from the hospital wing."
Harry felt immense relief that his friends would be getting top-notch care. "I'm really glad you're here. Elan and Percy are in a bad way."
"Elan and Percy? They've been rescued? What's happened to them?" asked one of the Healers with a white sash pushed her hood back, revealing herself as Jamie Davis.
"We'll conduct our own investigation, Miss Davis. It's not your place to ask questions yet. Trainees observe with closed mouths."
"Yes, Master Tonks," Jamie said, chastened. "I was only concerned for old friends."
"One must not let personal attachment interfere with one's judgement. Detach from your emotions."
Jamie silently nodded, putting her hood back up. Tracy looked like she wanted to greet her sister but made no motion. Harry figured she didn't want to get her big sister in anymore trouble.
"Harry, a good night to you. Good luck on your OWLs," Andromeda said.
"Thanks. Good night."
When they returned to the common room, all of the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students headed for the dormitories. The time for studying was over. The tests started in the morning.